Hydrophis spiralis

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Yellow Sea Snake
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Elapidae[1]
Genus: Hydrophis
Species: H. spiralis
Binomial name
Hydrophis spiralis
(Shaw, 1802)

Yellow Sea Snake Hydrophis spiralis is a species of sea snake.[1]

Contents

[edit] Anatomy

This is perhaps the longest species of seasnake (up to 2.75 m). Diagnostic Characters- Scales on thickest part of body with rounded or pointed tips, imbricate; 6-7 maxillary teeth behind fangs; normally 1 anterior temporal; 6-8 upper labials; 25-31 scale rows around neck, 33-38 around midbody (increase from neck to midbody 4-8); ven-trals 295-362, distinct throughout, about twice as broad as adjacent body scales; yellowish or yel-lowish- green above, dorsal scales edged with black, 41-46 narrow black bands encircle body, the bands usually less than one-third the width of the lighter interspaces; head in young black with yel-low horseshoe-shaped marking, in adult head usually yellow. Total length males 1620 mm, females 1830 mm; tail length males 140 mm, females 120 mm.

[edit] Distribution

Indian Ocean (Persian Gulf, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Iran, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, China, New Guinea), New Caledonia/Loyalty Islands



[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Hydrophis (TSN 700227). Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved on 7 September 2007.

[edit] Bibliography

  • Frith,C.B. 1977 The sea snake Hydrophis spiralis (Shaw); a new species of the fauna of Thailand. Nat. Hist. Bull. Siam Soc. (Bangkok) 26: 339-341


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